For its 2024 Legal Trends Report, Clio had a research firm contact 500 U.S. law firms the way a prospective client would. Only 33% answered the email and 40% answered the phone. Almost half, 48%, could not be reached by phone at all.
So the first rule of family law client intake is simple: pick up. The second is harder. The person who picks up, usually a legal assistant, has one short call to learn enough to run a conflict check, spot anything urgent and start the file. They also have to avoid learning too much. This checklist is for that person.
What should a family law client intake call cover?
The first call has three jobs. Find out whether the firm can talk to this person at all. Find out what is urgent. Set up the consultation so the attorney starts with facts and not a blank page. In that order.
Here is what I would put on the sheet next to the phone:
The caller's full legal name, and any former names.
The other party's full legal name, and any former names. The conflict check needs both.
The best way to reach the caller, and whether it is safe to leave a voicemail, send a text or use that email address. In family law, that is a real question.
The state and county where each person lives, and for how long.
The kind of matter: divorce, custody, support, a modification, enforcement, a prenup.
Whether anything has been filed or served, by whom, and on what date.
Any hearing or deadline already on the calendar.
Whether there are children, and how many. Names and details can wait.
Whether another lawyer has represented them in this matter.
Whether they have used any AI tool for anything about their case. Write down the answer. I explained why in what to tell a client who asked ChatGPT first.
That is ten lines. A caller who was served last week and has a hearing in nine days is a different call from one who is thinking about leaving next year. The sheet should make that difference obvious in the first two minutes.
What not to ask before the conflict check
A caller in the middle of a divorce wants to tell you everything. It feels kind to let them. It can also cost the firm the case, and sometimes a different client.
Under ABA Model Rule 1.18, a person who consults a lawyer "about the possibility of forming a client-lawyer relationship with respect to a matter" is a prospective client. The firm owes that person duties even if it never takes the case, and what the caller shares can keep the firm from representing the other spouse. As the ABA's Business Law Today explains, the rule gives a firm more room when it "took reasonable measures to avoid exposure to more disqualifying information than was reasonably necessary."
In plain words: names first, conflict check second, the story third. A line your team can use:
"I want the attorney to hear this from you directly. Let me get a few details first so we can confirm we're able to help."
Two more things stay off the first call. No opinions on the case, including the friendly ones like "that sounds strong." And no fee the attorney has not set.
Which documents should you request before the consultation?
Disclosure deadlines arrive early, and they are written down. Three examples:
California. The Judicial Council's Declaration of Disclosure form says the petitioner must serve a preliminary declaration of disclosure with the Petition or within 60 days of filing it. That package includes a Schedule of Assets and Debts, an Income and Expense Declaration, and the tax returns filed in the two years before.
New York. Under 22 NYCRR 202.16, the preliminary conference is to be held within 45 days after the case is assigned. Statements of net worth are exchanged and filed no later than 10 days before it, along with pay stubs, three years of tax returns and three years of account statements.
Michigan. Under MCR 3.206(C), each party must serve a Verified Financial Information Form within 28 days after the defendant's first responsive pleading is served.
Those clocks start with the case, not when the client finds the paperwork. So the request list should go out with the consultation confirmation:
Any papers that have been filed or served, and any existing court orders.
Tax returns for the last three years, with W-2s and 1099s.
Pay stubs for the current year.
The most recent statement for every bank, credit card, retirement and investment account.
The mortgage statement or lease, and titles for vehicles.
Any prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.
If there are children: any parenting plan, the school and childcare schedule, and what childcare and health insurance cost.
Ask for what they have, not for a perfect set. What matters most is a dated record of what was requested and what arrived. That record is how you find what's missing from a financial disclosure before the other side does.
How to close the call so nothing gets dropped
Read the names back and confirm the spelling.
Say what happens next and when: the conflict check, then a confirmation with the date, any consultation fee and the document list.
Ask them not to send documents until the firm confirms it can help.
Write the note the same day: who called, when, what is urgent, what you asked for. Put it where the attorney will see it before the consultation.
Step four is the one that gets skipped on a busy afternoon. It is also the one the attorney needs most.
Where Del fits
We built Del, our AI teammate for law firms, to carry this part of the file. Del can run the intake conversation, ask the follow-up question when an answer is vague, request the documents and keep reminding until they arrive. The attorney gets an intake report with the facts, what has been received and what is still open, each answer linked to its source. Del collects information. It does not give legal advice, and your team reviews what it produces. You can see how AI client intake works on our site.
A good intake isn't a longer form. It's a short call that ends with the right names, the urgent dates and a document list already in the client's hands. Miss the call and the client is gone. Take it badly and the file starts with gaps someone on your team will chase for months.
If you want to see how Del handles intake on a family law matter, request a demo.
This is practical commentary, not legal advice. Ethics rules and court rules vary by state, so check your own state's rules.
Related reading: Financial Disclosures in Divorce: How AI Finds What's Missing · Your Client Asked ChatGPT First. That Chat May Be Evidence.